It has been over 6 weeks since left the UK. There a a few things I’ve noticed which are different. I don’t mean just the landscape or the weather. They are only small things, but they add up. In no particular order and not better or worse.
- Tomato ketchup tastes different. We’ve tried 5 different ones to find one that the children like. Luckily they like one of the cheapest ones. Not sure if it’s a tomato thing, but we’ve found the same with pasta sauces, baked beans and soup. I prefer the Campbells soup over anything else, but that was the same in the UK.
- Car parking is better here. In Wellington the parking can be expensive, but it’s still only $10-15 for the day. That’s still less than £5.50. You’re not going to find that in London or even Huntingdon town centre. Parking is free in the whole of Upper Hutt and there is plenty of it. The spaces are bigger too. There is an area around each space so doors can be opened. It is only about 30cm each side, but it makes a big different. It may sacrifice a few extra spaces, but gives less dents in doors 🙂 They are not charging for the space, so I guess squeezing a few more in is not a requirement.
- The trains are very cheap. Even a peak time ticket to Wellington is only $5. If you buy a season ticket is gets very cheap for the month. The trains are on time and pretty clean and not too over crowded. Others may disagree.
- Weetbix are different to Weetabix. The kids prefer Weetbix.
- Chocolate tastes different. I think we’re eating less 😉
- Fruit is plentiful and cheap. More cuts and bruises in them and the sizes vary. We can buy a huge 4 kg bag of apples for not much more than we’d pay of a kg in the UK.
- TV. You only appreciate the lack of adverts on BBC when you have to watch adverts all the time. We’ve only got 3 channels. There are more free ones, but I’ve not been able to tune them. A mixture of UK, US and home grown shows. The adverts are a mixed bunch. There is one for a truck which has some bulls driving around which is funny, but I doubt they’d have it on before 9pm in the UK. The agricultural adverts are interesting. Buy some sheep treatment and get a free fleece.
- Where are the 3 lane motor ways linking major cities? I’ll give you a clue. They are in Europe!
I’m sure there are more. We all like it here. It is different, but not so foreign as to feel completely lost.
